Feasibility of unattended home polysomnography in children with sleep-disordered breathing

Objective: To investigate the technical feasibility of unattended polysomnography (HPSG) for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (USA) in children. Methods: A single-night HPSG was performed on children referred to the pediatric respiratory laboratory. Non-interpretable HPSGs were defined as: recordings with (i) loss of >= 2 of the following channels: nasal flow, or thoraco-abdominal belts, or (ii) HPSG with less than 4 h of artifact-free recording time or (iii) less than 4 h SpO2 signal. Results: Of n = 101 included HPSGs, n = 75 were ambulatory and n = 26 in hospitalized subjects. Median (minimum-maximum) age was 2.8 (0-15.4) years. Interpretable and technically acceptable recordings were obtained in 94 subjects (93%). Only 7 recordings (4 at home versus 3 in hospitalized subjects, p-value = 0.254) were classified as non-interpretable and had to be repeated. Artifact-free recording time was 461 (23-766) min. Complete artifact-free pulse oximetry signal was obtained in 14% of the included subjects. Neither age, gender, AHI, nor place of performance was significantly associated with the interpretability of recordings. Discussion: HPSG showed a high rate of interpretability and technical acceptance. The high technical feasibility obtained by HPSG may help to improve simple screening tests for OSA in children. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.